A diabetic pest controller who was fired after stealing and eating a chocolate bar to try to avoid a hypoglycemic attack has lost his disability discrimination claim.
Jason Galloway was working in a restaurant when he took the candy out of a refrigerator because he felt his blood sugar levels were low while at work.
The Rentokil employee, who has type 1 diabetes, was filmed on CCTV raiding the store and reported to the company by restaurant bosses, who suspended him.
Although he returned to the scene with two chocolate bars to replace the one he had taken, Rentokil bosses declared “theft is theft” and dismissed him for serious misconduct.
Mr Galloway tried to sue the pest control company for disability discrimination, claiming his dismissal was “unnecessarily harsh” and “he didn’t like being called a thief for suffering a medical episode of hypoglycemia “.
However, he lost his case at court in Hull, East Yorkshire, which ruled he had done nothing to reassure Rentokil that he would not do the same thing again.
Rentokil fired Jason Galloway after receiving CCTV reports showing him stealing and eating a chocolate bar from a restaurant fridge in an attempt to avoid a hypoglycemic attack. Pictured: a Rentokil van
An employment tribunal in Hull rejected Mr Galloway’s claim that he was discriminated against on the grounds of disability. Pictured: Hull Combined Court
The court heard Mr Galloway had been managing his type 1 diabetes for around 30 years and had an implant connected to his phone, allowing him to measure his blood sugar levels.
He had to inject himself with insulin and when the levels fell too low, he suffered a hypoglycemic medical episode, known as a “hypos.”
A court report said: “On April 3, 2023, at around 5 p.m., Mr Galloway was at a customer’s home and took and ate a chocolate bar from a store fridge.
“The bar was owned by a member of staff. The store did not sell chocolate bars.
“Mr Galloway then purchased a noodle meal from the outlet.
“He had called management to tell them he wouldn’t complete his calls that day, but he didn’t mention the chocolate bar.
“However, he realized he had done something that needed to be fixed that evening.
“Store management reviewed the CCTV and concluded that he had robbed the bar and reported this to Rentokil.
“After (Mr Galloway was suspended) he went to the client’s house, taking with him two bars of chocolate to replace the one he had taken, informing the client’s manager of his diabetes.
“The customer then informed Rentokil and apologized, thereby withdrawing their complaint.”
At a meeting about the incident, Mr Galloway “screamed” and claimed he was being “persecuted”.
A Rentokil manager told Mr Galloway that “theft is theft” and that the company “could not justify theft”.
Mr Galloway had previously received two warnings over separate matters, it was heard.
In his defence, Mr Galloway claimed he had a “valid reason” to steal, adding: “I didn’t choose to have a hypo, it was OK because it was justified.”
He claimed “the company wanted him to step down because of his diabetes and there was a witch hunt”, he was heard saying.
He also said he would get an insulin pump, that he “didn’t like” being called a thief and that “losing his job was unfair, unnecessarily harsh and he was devastated.” .
He was fired in April 2023, despite having worked at Rentokil since April 2022. Rentokil told him it had failed to resolve the issue and that his actions “brought the company into disrepute.”
Employment judge Jennifer Wade dismissed his disability discrimination claim.
She said: “The nature of Rentokil’s business, trust that its staff would do the right things and act appropriately when working alone, was essential, as was protecting its reputation in a competitive market.
“Rentokil’s much more important concern… was the future: Would Mr. Galloway act appropriately as a lone worker in the future, if a similar situation arose.”
“In this he gave no assurances except to suggest that the new insulin pump would solve the problem.”
“He certainly did not accept that he should have done anything differently, nor did he give any assurance that he would do so if the situation arose.
“In short, he could not see at all why Rentokil considered the matter serious and he considered his diabetes to be a complete exoneration from any criticism.”
Mr Galloway represented himself at the day-long tribunal while Rentokil Initial UK Limited was represented by a solicitor.
MailOnline has contacted Rentokil for comment.
